Tears of Blood And Stone
by Werewolf Nighteyes
Summary: A story of Seto, Nanaki's father. Read it!


Tears of Blood and Stone

A Final Fantasy VII fanfic

            War. How much Seto hated that word, nothing could ever express. As skillful as he was at fighting, he had never enjoyed taking lives. And he especially hated having to fight on holy grounds. If Cosmo Canyon, the only home he had ever known could not be called holy ground, then no other place on the surface of this world or any other for that matter could ever be sacred to Seto. Not even the Promised Land of the Cetra. Cosmo Canyon was his Promised Land. His son, Nanaki and his human wife Milla were his supreme happiness.

            But was he brave enough to fight for it? Was he strong enough to defend what was rightly his? These were among the hundreds of questions that burned in his head as he sat by the light of the Cosmo Canyon. Excluding Nanaki, Seto was the last of his kind. If he died…what would happen next? He wanted so much to watch his son grow up. But now, there only seemed one way to do that-escape.

            ' _The Gi Tribe shouldn't be that far off. Judging on their last known location, they should arrive at sunrise. Maybe we could evacuate Cosmo Canyon before then. Then everything will be okay_,' Seto's mind whispered.

            " I know what you're thinking."

            Bugenhagen's voice knocked Seto out of his thoughts and back to reality. He turned around to face his father-in-law, a 42-year-old man who he knew to be wise in many ways.

            " Escaping won't solve anything, Seto. Even if you wanted to, Milla and everyone else would rather die than abandon their homes," Bugenhagen said sharply.

            Seto's eyelids narrowed. " But father, it is foolishness to remain! Look around you!" he shouted. " The people of Cosmo Canyon are not fighters! How can you expect them to defend this place against a horde of attackers?"

            " There is always hope if you're willing to look for it," Bugenhagen said confidently. Sometimes the old man was just so stubborn… " But if you would rather leave, do not hesitate to do so. I'm sure that Milla will understand."

            Seto didn't know what to say to that. ' _Understand what? Understand that her husband is a coward?_' he wondered sadly.

            " Leave, Seto if that is what you really want. I will not stop you."

            And at that, Bugenhagen walked away, leaving Seto lost in his own thoughts.

            Seto padded up towards his wife, who was sound asleep in bed with their son, Nanaki. They were so beautiful, the both of them. Milla's auburn hair and Nanaki's crimson fur reminded Seto of the Cosmo Candle, and the stories that Milla used to tell him of bravery and valor.  

            They were so beautiful, both on the outside and on the inside. Milla was more braver than he was, more dependable, much more loyal.

            What was he, then? Who was he to wake them up and tell them to run away with him? 

            ' _Tomorrow, we fight side by side,' Milla had told him earlier that day. ' __For our son, and for our home.' _

            Seto still remembered her gentle fingers stroking his fur lovingly. He felt as though his heart would burst as memory upon memory of their past drilled their way into his mind.

            Who was he to run, with or without them?

            As much as Seto hated fighting, Seto knew that he was the only one in Cosmo Canyon who could.  If anyone would die tomorrow, Seto decided that he would be the first, and hopefully the only.

            ' _Live, my precious Milla, my precious Nanaki. Live for me._'

            And with that silent prayer, Seto left the warmth of the bedroom to head for the caverns below.

            The sound of footsteps echoed down the caverns beneath Cosmo Canyon. And near its exit, Seto stood ready.

            ' _Just as I thought_,' Seto whispered. The warriors of the Gi Tribe were trying to attack Cosmo Canyon by coming in from underneath. 

            But the caverns provided an advantage for Seto- they were narrow. And that meant that the Gi could not come out in large numbers. The lava pits on the sides of the walkways would advantage him even more.

            " I will not die until I finish this fight," Seto whispered. He would decimate the enemy numbers so much that his people would stand a chance. 

            Giving out a loud war howl, Seto charged to meet the first wave of attackers.

            Sunrise.

            Where were the attackers?

            The people of Cosmo Canyon could only wonder.

            Where was Seto?

            The coward had slipped away in the night. At least, that was what the people believed. Of course, the so-called 'truth' had only devastated Milla and her son. 

            Had they been abandoned because of Seto's cowardice? Where was he now?

            Frankly, they did not care.

            They waited and waited, but still no attackers came. Then wise Bugenhagen went down to the caverns, remembering a theory that Seto had once told him.

            When he got there, he found the attackers they had been waiting for, armed with the spears and blades that they had been dreading. But something was amiss.

            The attackers were all dead. 

            Blood was everywhere. The scent of the dead pierced Bugenhagen's nose far more sharply than any Gi spear ever could.  What had happened down here? Who had fought these attackers?

            Determined to find the answer, Bugenhagen continued down the caverns alone. 

            When Bugenhagen reached its end, he found the warrior he had been looking for.

            It was Seto. 

            Seto was still very much alive when Bugenhagen found him, except for the fact that dozens of Gi arrows now stuck on his back like quills on a porcupine. On his head, he wore proudly the Seraph Comb, which was now stained with the blood of the Gi Tribe. 

            And his back had turned to stone. 

            " Seto?" Bugenhagen said softly. He climbed up to his son-in-law, who stood transfixed to his spot like a statue. 

            Seto turned to look at Bugenhagen and smiled wearily. His eyes reflected tiredness so great that it was a miracle that he was still standing. But when Bugenhagen saw Seto's legs, he saw how Seto had managed to stand all this while.

            Seto's legs were stone. The Gi arrows were doing this to him. Stone was beginning to coat the fur around Seto's neck. Soon, Seto would be a real statue.

            " I did it," Seto said softly.

            " Seto," Bugenhagen said sadly. " People think that you ran away- that you're a coward. I'm so sorry. I will tell everyone what really happened, and you will be a hero."

            To Bugenhagen's surprise, Seto shook his head in denial. 

            " No," Seto said sharply. " Don't tell _anyone_. Don't tell Milla that I…" Seto turned away from Bugenhagen to face the sky. His neck was stone. It would not be long now…

            " Milla always told me that our souls would meet when we return, when we die. She'd be devastated if she knew that I…that I will never see her again," Seto said. His fate took him in a different path now, that much was clear. By turning to stone, his soul, his life essence would remain trapped here forever. Hers would not.

            He would never lay eyes on his son or wife ever again.

            " Bugenhagen, father, promise me you won't tell her," Seto pleaded.

            And as much as Bugenhagen hated it, he knew he had to do it. He would honor Seto's last request.

            " I…I promise," he said.

            " And my comb, give it to Nanaki," Seto added. " Give it to him when he is ready, when he will need it."

            The stone had reached Seto's eyes now. Seto looked to the skies for one last time.

            ' _Milla, Nanaki…I did this for you. Milla, forgive me for not telling you. Nanaki, my dear son, sorry I will not be around to see you grow._'

            And it was done. The stone covered Seto completely. He would never speak again. Seto was now no longer among the living, yet not among the dead either. He was doomed to stay here forever.

            Shaking his head sadly, Bugenhagen walked away.

            " No one will ever know…"


End file.
